The Syrian Army alongside Hezbollah fighters continued to hunt down ISIL militants in regions close to the strategic Aleppo-Raqqa highway on Friday, military sources said.

The sources said that the Syrian army’s 2nd Division, in coordination with Hezbollah, the National Defense Forces (NDF) of Aleppo city, Kataebat Al-Ba’ath (Al-Ba’ath Battalions) and Harakat Al-Nujaba carried out a powerful assault along the Aleppo-Raqqa Highway and targeted the ISIL defensive positions at the Sisako Factory and the large chemical production facility that is located across this roadway.

The Syrian Armed Forces and their allies advanced 4.5km along the Aleppo-Raqqa Highway, seizing the chemical production facility after an intense series of firefights with the ISIL terrorists.

The Syrian Armed Forces and their allies are currently positioned at the Sisako Factory, where they are in a heated battle for control of this facility that is situated approximately 3.5km away from the strategic Aleppo Thermal Plant in the Aleppo province’s Eastern countryside.

The Aleppo Thermal Plant is strategically positioned between the Kuweires Military Airport and the Al-Safira District of Aleppo city; if captured, the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies can obstruct ISIL’ only supply route to their fighters in the Western side of the Deir Hafer Plains.

The Syrian army, popular forces and Hezbollah forces, backed up by Syrian and Russian air force, lifted the two and a half-year-long siege of Kuweires military airbase after killing hundreds of ISIL terrorists on Tuesday.

The Syrian troops and Hezbollah forces rolled into the Kuweires airport at the end of their daylong last phase of massive operations.

The Syrian army, the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Hezbollah combatants, backed up by Russian warplanes, launched the last round of their over one-month-long joint operations against the ISIL terrorists’ positions in Eastern Aleppo near the Kuweires airbase Tuesday morning, and won full control over the strategic Aleppo-Raqqa Highway.

The attack started from multiple directions and ended up in cleaning up several villages from ISIL. Hundreds of the ISIL militants were killed or wounded in the operations.

In the next stage, Syrian and Russian Air Forces massively targeted the last strongholds of the ISIL militants around the Kuweires airbase.

In addition to the Syrian and Russian airstrikes, the artillery and mortar units of the army also shelled the ISIL strongholds to weaken their defense lines as much as possible to lay the ground for the combatants of Hezbollah, the army soldiers and the National Defense Forces to launch the final phase of their joint operations to lift the siege on Kuweires airbase.

Intelligence sources said hundreds of ISIL militants were fleeing the Kuweires region to safer areas to save their lives after suffering heavy casualties in the joint massive attack of the Syrian Army and Hezbollah with the Russian air backup.

After cleaning the region, the pro-government troops had to defuse a minefield planted by the ISIL before they could reach the gates of airbase.

Hundreds of Syrian forces were under a tight siege at the airbase as a result of the occupation of vast areas surrounding the airport by the terrorists.

When under the siege, the Syrian army’s helicopters supplied foodstuff and other needs to the Syrian troops defending the airport.